LARRY GOLDFARB

The man behind the name

on the Larry Goldfarb Gymnasium

in the Newton H. White Athletic Center

 

The Larry Goldfarb Gymnasium in the Newton H. White Athletic Center at The Johns Hopkins University is named in honor of a remarkable man whose contributions, both financial and personal, have significantly advanced athletics programs on the Homewood campus.

A plaque in his honor reads as follows:

Larry Goldfarb,

Baltimorean, certified public accountant, athlete,

whose personal physical fitness

has made him a role model and

whose friendship and generosity

have enriched the lives

of countless members of the athletic community

	

This article was prepared in March 2000 to provide Johns Hopkins athletes past and present,

alumni and friends of the University, and visitors with an understanding of the man behind the name on the Larry Goldfarb Gymnasium in the Newton H. White Athletic Center.

A Partnership with Johns Hopkins Athletics

"They say no good deed goes unpunished," jokes Larry Goldfarb, "but this time it worked the other way around." He is referring to the beginning of his long and mutually satisfying partnership with retired Johns Hopkins University Athletics Director Bob Scott, the coaches and athletes of The Johns Hopkins University.

Beginning in his teen-age years, Larry Goldfarb was a pioneer in his dedication to maintaining the highest possible level of physical fitness. In the 1950s, he began to follow a regimen of daily exercise and careful nutrition that today is commonplace but at the time, was far from accepted. Throughout his life, Goldfarb excelled in virtually all forms of athletic competition and pursued a rigorous program of fitness that has included weight training and running every day, no matter the weather. "In those days, a lot of people thought I was a nut to be running for conditioning," he recalls with a smile.

In 1958, Larry Goldfarb began using the track at the Homewood Field on the Johns Hopkins University campus for a daily three-mile run. While he had no previous association with the University, he had recently moved to the neighborhood and, like others in the area, was drawn to the green space and well-maintained facilities.

"I used to see him using the track when I was out coaching the lacrosse team," recalls Bob Scott, A&S 52, "and wed exchange greetings." Goldfarb, who had begun making modest annual contributions to the University in appreciation for his use of the track, has similar recollections.

"We would both nod as I ran and he worked with the players. Then," says Goldfarb, "one day in the spring of 1974 I got up the nerve to stop and say to him, When I look at that Athletic Center and I think about the goodies that are inside, my mouth waters."

Scott, by that time the Athletics Director at Hopkins, invited Goldfarb to stop by his office when he finished working with the players. "He offered me a pass for the rest of the semester and I, of course, jumped at the offer," remembers Goldfarb. Then when the summer session started, during which the facilities are open to the community at a charge, Scott gave Goldfarb another free pass. "And that started it all," Goldfarb comments.

Looking back, he still marvels at this act of generosity. "He didnt know anything about me," comments Goldfarb. "This was back when running was considered weird, and anyone who was a serious runner didnt care too much for appearances. I was always dressed like a bum. Bob Scott had no idea I had deep pockets. He certainly didnt expect anything back. He just accepted me as a fellow athlete, and he and the other coaches made me feel very comfortable and welcome at Hopkins.

"It all started with that one good deed," Goldfarb reflects.

Bob Scott explains that providing access to the center to the dedicated runner "was not quite by the book, but he seemed like a really nice guy. And, no, I certainly didnt expect anything in return."

Larry Goldfarb became a regular at the Athletic Center and an ardent fan of all of the Hopkins teams. Further, he and Scott became close friends. "He really became a good friend to all of the coaches and players," Scott notes. "In effect he became a sort of volunteer member of the staff, coming to the social functions, helping out with some financial analysis." Goldfarb attended most games, no matter the sport.

"As he got to know the coaches, he started to ask, Do you need anything to supplement your budget?" recounts Scott.

 

Goldfarb was quick to respond to the needs, providing funding first for a new ice machine in the varsity training room, and eventually for baseball dugouts. He enabled the athletics office to purchase its first automatic copy machine and its first three computers. He also underwrote the cost for new varsity and recreational weight roomsboth now graced with plaques in his honor. And the womens crew team has had a number of wins in the Larry Goldfarb, a racing scull named for the man who has been a benefactor of their program.

More recently, he contributed significantly to the construction of a fully air-conditioned wing added to the rear of the first floor of the Athletic Center. The new wing includes an area for the womens varsity teams containing seven locker rooms and a large room used for team meetings and video viewing, post-game receptions, and other events. The wing also houses a varsity teams training room where students receive instruction in how to avoid or limit injuries and are provided with a range of services--evaluation and assessment (by physicians when necessary) of injuries when they do occur, as well as immediate care and rehabilitation. Students also have access to equipment for rehabilitation and strengthening exercises, including five whirlpools of different sizes and ultrasound equipment. All the activities are supervised by an experienced, certified athletics trainer and capable staff.

"My intention for doing all of these things was to help Bobs program succeed," Goldfarb says simply. "The gifts were part of my payback for his good deed."

When Scott retired in 1995, Tom Calder was selected to take over as A.D. The close relationship with Goldfarb continued. "I had gotten to know him when I was Bob Scotts associate director," Calder says of Goldfarb. "He was at just about every lacrosse and football game, and attended many of the other games and events also."

The financial support Goldfarb has continued to provide has been a tremendous boon to Hopkins athletics, Calder agrees. "But his support just goes on and on. Its not just his gifts; he provides tremendous personal support for the teams. Hes a terrific fan.

"He has a lot of common sense and hes very wise," Calder reflects. "We all ask his advice. Hes given me some excellent guidance on financial issues and also in making important decisions in my life."

With a smile he adds, "Plus hes helped me improve my putting in golf and my tennis game."

Larry Goldfarb is pleased with the camaraderie he has developed with Hopkins staff and athletes and is proud of the part he has played in the history of Hopkins athletics. "In 1984, the lacrosse team won the NCAA championship," he says. "That was the year the varsity weight room was enlarged and the players told me that they were motivated to work out more than usual, which helped make them strong enough to win the championship. So they gave me a championship ring with my name on it, just like the ones the team received." His eyes shine with delight as he displays the treasured ring. When 1985 brought another championship, the team presented him with a watch just like the ones they had received.

The most recent chapter in his partnership with Johns Hopkins was the naming of the Larry Goldfarb Gymnasium at the Newton H. White Athletics Center in 1997. A plaque on the wall at the entrance to the gym pays tribute to Goldfarb. (The wording appears on the first page of this article.)

As a prelude to the naming of the gymnasium, a luncheon was held in Goldfarbs honor at the home of Hopkins President William R. Brody and his wife, Wendy. The luncheon was attended as well by Bob Scott, Tom Calder, retired Vice President for Development Robert "Rip" Haley (who came from Ithaca, New York, for the event), and other Hopkins development officials. The President presented Goldfarb with a smaller replica of the plaque on the wall at the gymnasium and summed up the Universitys gratitude with these words: "Larry Goldfarb is a tremendous asset to Johns Hopkins. In the eyes of our athletes and fans, Larry Goldfarb is the definition of what winning is all about."

A Natural Athlete Whose Persistence Led to Excellence

"As a boy, I discovered I had a terrific gift, the ability and instincts that make a good athlete" Goldfarb reflects. "I was able to pick up any sport that interested me by just reading about it, watching the good players, andwithout ever getting any instructionI would practice and practice." And before very long, he was proficient in the sport.

He offers as an example two news clipping about a Baltimore tennis match, his first experience in tournament play only a year or so after he took up the sport. From the Baltimore Sun:

From the Baltimore News-Post:

Jacobs, recalls Goldfarb, was the younger brother of nationally ranked tennis champion Eddie Jacobs, the best player Baltimore ever had, ranking in the top ten in the country. "You can imagine what kind of help Billy had in developing his tennis game," Goldfarb comments.

The young Goldfarb also was equally adept at both baseball and softball. In the 1930s, as the lead-off batter for the Invincible All-Stars, a summer league team, he was able to fill in capably at any position. A news article reports a triple header against two teams, the ninth straight win for the All-Stars. "The feature of the game was the heavy hitting of Goldfarb, Carpman, and Dahne," the report says. Goldfarb notes that a run of inclement weather had caused a number of games to be canceled, so three games were played in a single day to catch up the schedule.

In high school, he was on the basketball and track teams. "I had limited experience in basketball," he remembers, speculating that if he had been able to attend a summer camp, he might have enjoyed good success in that sport as well. He had strong ability and instincts, as well as good anticipation; however, he reports that his progress was limited by the fact that his fingers werent long enough to handle the ball as well as a good basketball player should.

Golfarb excelled in track, competing in the junior unlimited class through his senior year, since he wasnt yet 16 years old as of the January 1^st age cutoff. "I won my share of gold medals," he recalls, but notes that somealong with other awards and trophies--were later stolen when his mothers home was broken into. He still has medals won in 1927 at the track and field championships of the Baltimore Public Schools and of the State of Maryland Public Schools, as well as at a 1928 meet at Central High School in Washington, D.C., for the 880 yard relay in which he was anchor manhis usual position on the team. Missing are medals for 1928 and 1929 State of Maryland track and field wins.

While he had wanted to play football, he has no regrets about his mothers refusal to give him permission to play football. "She would see me come in from the sandlot in the rear of our house, where we would play football with no pads, helmets, or any protection," he says. "I tried to explain that on the high school team, I would be much more protected.

"I was devastated at the time, but in retrospect, she probably did me a favor," he says. "It probably saved me from injuries that might have prevented me from participating in other sports and activities in the future."

His one regret was that lacrosse was not offered in public schools when he was a student. "When I saw my first game in 1928Hopkins played at the municipal stadium in the tryouts for the OlympicsI fell in love with the game," he says. "I think its a sport that would have been right up my alley. I had no idea then that 56 years later, I would be wearing a national lacrosse championship ring and watch," he comments, referring to the gifts from the Hopkins lacrosse team. "Its really miraculous."

Tennis became his favorite pastime. Photos show a tall and tanned athlete, clearly at home on the courts. He played at nearly every opportunity throughout his life, until his 70s, and won countless awards in tournaments. Goldfarb reached the semi-finals of the 1940 Baltimore City Open singles tennis championship but had to default his semifinals match because of an injury sustained in the last game of his quarter finals match. He and Barbara Friedberg--now Barbara Rinder, M.D.emerged as victors in mixed doubles in the 1951 municipal championship sponsored by the Evening Sun.

More news articles document his exploits in golf, a game he admits he had spurned for many years. "I turned my nose up at anything that wasnt as physically demanding as tennis," he says. "Golf just seemed like an old mans game." But in the early 1950s, he joined the newly formed Bonnie View County Club, and the only athletic activity available at first was golf while the rest of the facilities were being constructed. "So I decided to participate."

As usual, he taught himself the game. "I quickly realized that a one-foot put counts just as much as a 250-yard drive off the tee," he comments, "so I concentrated on perfecting the short game." He practiced endlessly and by the end of his first year was scoring in the 80s. "It drove some of the really dedicated golfers crazy that I could do that well with no instruction from a pro," he laughs. "I owe everything to practice with a capital P, especially in golf. I just worked and worked at it. There were many instructional articles appearing in the papers at the time," he notes, " but I didnt find them very helpful because in most cases I had already been able to work out the problems on my own."

He still has the trophy he won in the 1953 Bonnie View members spring golf tournament. A news clipping reports that he earned a National Golf Day medal in 1954 whenwith a gross score of 79, minus his 12 handicap, on the Bonnie View coursehe bested the legendary Ben Hogans 71 points on the pros home course in Texas. The story reads, in part:

Toward the end of the 1950s, Bonnie View had built tennis courtsalong with a full range of other facilitiesso Goldfarb gave up golf with no regrets and devoted his full attention to his favorite pursuit, although he did spend an occasional evening in one of Baltimores legendary duckpin bowling alleys, where he averaged an impressive 126 a game.

The natural athletic ability that helped make Goldfarb so accomplished on the courts and the greens also stood him in good stead on the dance floor. As a teen, he got practice as a partner with his sisters"very good dancers with good rhythm who could feel the music, as I could," he recalls.

Photos show the debonair Goldfarb and a variety of lovely young partners. He won top awards in ballroom dance (Latin American) contests locally and at resorts in Florida and New England. He recalls one contest he won at the Lake Tarleton Club in Pike, New Hampshire, in the White Mountains. The next day, the male professional dance instructor sought him out and asked him to demonstrate some of his winning steps.

He also won local honors for his striking black and white photossome of which now line the hallway wall of his apartmentin national contests sponsored by Eastman Kodak. The contests ran every summer for 10 weeks, with winners chosen each week and their work published in the Baltimore Sunday Sun. During a three-year period during the 1950s when he competed, his work took top honors and was featured in the Sun more frequently than that of any other entrant. The Sunpapers submitted one of his photos to Eastman Kodak for judging in the national contest, where he won a Certificate of Merit which carried with it a small monetary award.

Goldfarbs work was also well-regarded in member competitions at the Baltimore Camera Club, to which he belonged. "There was one night in particular I remember when the judges selected the top three photos submittedwithout any knowledge of who the photographers were, as was the custom" he says. First, second, and third place all went to Larry Goldfarb.

Achieving Success in Academics and Business

Goldfarbs parents emigrated to Baltimore from the Ukraine in the early 1900s, linked through an arranged marriagecommon at the time among Jewish families from that region. "It didnt work out very well at all," he says. "My father was a gambler and a very poor provider. I have no warm recollections of him, and my parents were divorced when I was in high school, at my urging.

"We were extremely poor," he remembers. "I recall instances where I put cardboard in my shoes to protect my feet from the holes in the bottoms. My mother worked terribly hard to keep us clothed and fed, and it was tough for her," he says. "She was a very smart woman, and theres no telling what she might have achieved if she had been born in the U.S. and had the opportunity to get an education. Throughout my life I would ask her opinion on certain matters, and I could count on the fact that her advice would be unfailingly insightful."

The youngest of four children, Goldfarb reports that all of his older siblings had to drop out of school to bring money into the family. His brother, who was born before his parents came to Baltimore, had to drop out before entering high school, selling and delivering papers and picking up other odd jobs as he could. Both sisters dropped out to take secretarial jobs, the first after her sophomore year and the next after her junior year.

"I was the lucky one," he comments. "I was able to complete high school and was on the honor roll every year." However, he did do his part in contributing to the familys income beginning in high school, by working evenings setting up pins in a bowling alley and by re-stringing tennis racquets. "I even had business cards printed," he recalls. They read: If your racquet is worth re-stringing, it is worth being re-strung well. He continued re-stringing racquets through his college years, often working into the early morning hours.

After high school, he was determined to train for a profession. "Starting a business was out of the questions because of lack of capital. I really wanted to be a doctor," he confides, "but for the same reason, lack of capital, it was also out of the question.

" I had to choose a career where I could make a living as soon as possible," he continues, "so I set my sights on becoming a C.P.A., and in 1929 I enrolled in night classes at the Baltimore College of Commerce."

The College of Commerce in 1970 merged with the University of Baltimore. "Ironically, at that time, when I had started to accumulate some money, I was talking with the college administration about establishing some scholarships at that institution to which I owed so much, for giving me a very valuable education," Goldfarb notes. The merger with the University of Baltimore sidetracked those plans. "That was the end of my alma mater too," he says.

His first two years as a student, Goldfarb worked at the Hecht Company in sales. "There was no minimum wage and no overtime pay in those days," he says. "I worked all kinds of hours."

Classes were taught at the Baltimore Y.M.C.A., enabling the young man to use the facilities for a workout, eat a quick sandwich brought from home, and attend classes after work.

In his junior year, Goldfarb was offered a job in the accounting office of a B.C.C. instructor, a position he held for two years, gaining experience and still working plenty of overtime. "I received 75 cents as an allowance for dinner, the same as at the Hecht Company," he remembers.

Goldfarb graduated in 1935 with straight As in every coursesaid to be one of the best academic records of any student in the history of the school. That November, he took the rigorous state C.P.A. examinationsoffered only once a year and given over three grueling days.

He took top honors on the examination and, as far as he was able to determine, was the only one to receive a score of 100% on the practical accounting section of the examinations, which took an entire day. His coup was reported in the colleges newsletter:

"I decided to go into practice for myself and to take along a co-worker in the firm in which I had been working, even though he had not yet passed the C.P.A. examination," Goldfarb says. At the same time, he was invited by the Baltimore College of Commerce to become an instructor teaching Principles of Accounting and Federal Income Tax courses.

In February 1938, two years after he became a C.P.A., he was invited by the Luncheon Club of the Bar Association of Baltimore City to give a talk on the basics of the Maryland state income tax, established that year. The address was published verbatim in the Daily Record, a publication read by virtually every lawyer in the state, as well as by many business people. "I was invited back the following year, to talk about changes in the Federal income tax, and the Daily Record gave it the same treatment as my talk the previous year. To a C.P.A., that kind of publicity was priceless," he observes.

"This was a bigger boost to my career than taking first honors in the C.P.A. exam" he remarks, "because the code of ethics for C.P.A.s prohibited any kind of solicitation of clients and it was pretty difficult to build up a practice without very good contacts, of which I had none."					

He observes that "It wasnt long before the winds of World War II could be felt, and soon came the draft. The inevitable call to service confronted virtually every healthy young man, and I was healthy," Goldfarb remarks. His alma mater hoped he might be granted a deferment so he could continue on the faculty, as suggested in a letter from the schools executive secretary:

"I appreciated the effort to keep me out of the war, but I knew in my heart that I would be very unhappy about sitting this one out," he comments, "especially considering the nature of the enemy and the fact that I was Jewish. I didnt even wait for my number to come up, but went to the induction center. When, during the interview, they found out I was a C.P.A., I was asked if I had any experience with photography," he recalls. "Apparently they were on the lookout for someone with this combination of qualifications to work in the Training Film Unit."

Indeed, he was a well-regarded amateur photographer, and provided the interviewer with impressive documentation of his skills. A letter from the Navys Training Film Unit came in June 1942 with his military assignment:

"It was quite an experience," he comments, recounting meeting well-known movie actors including Bob Hope, Robert Young, Walter Pigeon (with whom he played tennis), and the legendary Mae West. The last was a particularly memorable meeting. "I was with my commander, who had come along, ostensibly to inspect some of the movie studios that were making training films for us, but really he just wanted to get away for a few days," remembers Goldfarb.

The meeting took place backstage in her dressing room after the two men had seen the play in which she was starring"Catherine Was Great," in which Miss West portrayed her own version of Catherine the Great. "The plot of the play," Goldfarb says, "involved her sleeping around with all the officers and, depending on their performance, she would hand out promotions left and right.

"I asked if she could please arrange a promotion for me," he says. "I was an ensign at the time. She replied, with that suggestive signature comment of hers, Come up and see me some time. My commander, who seemed to be awed in her presence, almost flipped when he heard that," Goldfarb recalls with a laugh. "He took that story back with him to the Navy Department and told everybody who would listen about it.

"I did get a promotion soon after, but I dont think Mae West had anything to do with it."

He served until November 11, 1945, winning a letter of commendation that read, in part:

He returned to teaching at B.C.C.which he continued through 1957and set out to rebuild his accounting practice. "Of course all my clients were gone," he comments, "so I decided this time to start out on my own. I never wanted a big firm," he observes. "My goal was to make a decent living and have enough left over to investso I would always have time to play tennis on a beautiful day."

He smiles as he remembers, "It turned out to be a good choice. Every pretty day I would take off and play tennis. My employees knew that was how it would be when I hired them," he says. "I was up front in telling them about my schedulenice weather meant I was out of the office." Of course, he avers, there were exceptions. "I did have an accounting practice to run.

"Life was so wonderful, I couldnt wait for the next day to roll around."

A Devastating Setback Met with Determination

"Then the sky fell in," he says, recounting a seemingly minor accidental head injury, followed by another, severe, blow to the head in late 1962. "They were both self-inflicted," he says matter-of-factly, "and at the time I didnt really think too much about the first incident."

He continues: "It happened when I was in my apartment and had started to use a weight-lifting bar, with no weights on either end, which weighs about 20 pounds. I was beginning to do an exercise, a military press, which involved raising the weight bar above the head, bringing it down behind the head and resting it on the shoulders, lifting it up above the head, and then repeating the maneuver. At one point, either I didnt move my head forward enough or I didnt move the bar back far enough, but I hit the back of my head with a glancing blow. I remember commenting to myself, Dummy! and I just continued, thinking nothing of it."

"Two weeks later, possibly less, I awoke with a terrible headache, which was very unusual. I dont recall ever having had to take an aspirin up to that time. It was Sunday morning, and I called my doctor. He came to the apartment and asked me about what the cause might have been. I didnt know what to tell him, although it did occur to me in thinking back about the incident almost two weeks earlierit was the only thing I could think of.

"The doctor left after prescribing some pills to relieve the pain somewhat and told me to see him the next day."

The last thing Goldfarb felt like doing was going out, but it was his longstanding custom on Sundays to have breakfast with his mother at her home. "I dreaded the prospect," he comments, "because I wondered how I would hide that pain from her. I didnt want her to worry about what I was going through.

He drove to the house he grew up in on Reisterstown Road, parking in the alley as usual to avoid the traffic, and went into the house through the backyard. "I decided to go in through the basement door, which was lower than most. I had gone through that door at least a thousand times, but the pain that was still there in my head distracted me and I wasnt careful. I banged my head so hard I saw a flash of lightits what people mean when they say they see starsand that added to my misery and my concern as to how I could get through the morning without letting my mother know of my discomfort."

Goldfarb called his doctor, who arranged for him to enter the hospital. "At the hospital, they tested me from top to bottom," he says. "I was wondering why, with what I told them, they didnt catch on to what the real problem was. Unfortunately there were no CAT scans or MRIs that would have immediately made it clear what was wrong."

Eventually, the severity of the headaches started to diminish, which gave Goldfarb and the doctors some hope that they would eventually disappear. "They decided I should be released to see what happened," he says. Returning to the office, he resumed his routine but was still far from comfortable.

The next year, 1963, with income tax season looming, the pain returned with a vengeance and Goldfarb ended up in the hospital again. The doctors decided to do a test that had been considered earlier, but had not been done as it posed some risks. "It involved an injection of dye into my spine," according to Goldfarb, "followed by x-rays as the dye traveled up my spine to my skull. It was a revealing test. I found myself 10 minutes later in the operating room, my head being shaved completely."

The doctors had discovered a bilateral subdural hematoma. "Its the kind of injury you sometimes read about being suffered by boxers and football players," he remarks. "It can result in death, although not always."

He underwent a craniotomy, which required the doctor to bore three holes into his skull. "During the procedure, part of my brain started to move out of those holes, causing damage to both sides of my brain," he says. "Fortunately, I was in excellent physical condition prior to the operation and I made what was considered a very quick recuperationleaving the hospital earlier than the doctors had predictedbut I had suffered a big cost."

The damage to Goldfarbs brain, most serious to the left side, affectedamong other thingshis fine-motor skills, most noticeably on the right side of his body, leaving his right hand very weak and with very poor sensitivity. His right cheek was paralyzed, something to which he has now grown accustomed. His speech was affected because one of his vocal chords was paralyzed, which required another operation some years later. "I still really miss the ability to sing along with any song with which I was familiarwithout sounding like a frog with a severe case of laryngitis," he comments. "That was something I really enjoyed.

"Of course, my athletic ability just went flying out into the sky," he says. "It was a terrible loss, the end of what had truly been an ideal life.

"It changed my life completely."

The accomplished athlete had to re-learn the game he most loved, teaching himself to grip a tennis racquet despite his disability. He had lost almost all feeling in the palms of his hands and his grip was weak. Initially, the impact of hitting the ball caused the racquet to drop from his hand. "I dropped the racquet again and again as I was struggling to find a way to keep playing," he recalls. "It was very embarrassing. But I was very determined."

Soon, he was back on the courts, not at his previous competitive level, but able to enjoy the game and happy to be active again. As he recuperated, he continued to run three miles a day, rain, snow, or shine. "If there was deep snow and very few people ventured outside, I would run in the tracks of whatever vehicles were on the streets," he says with a chuckle. "I didnt let anything stop me. Indeed, I continued to play tennis and run daily until my 70s, when a botched knee operation, intended to repair a cartilage problem, prevented me from doing any more running."

He continues, "Today I remain in good health, although my mobility is severely limited by a balance problem that developed about a year agoa further complication of my earlier brain trauma, as I was later to learn. I consider the situation to be a plague that has been visited upon me.

"So I started an odyssey, going from one Hopkins doctor to another looking for a solution. After a series of many different kinds of tests including, among others, ears, eyes, and susceptibility to dizzinesswhich turned out to be negativeI was told that the condition was due to changes in my cerebellum that stem from my earlier brain injury. And I learned that I may experience further, unpredictable problems in the future.

"I would give quite a lot to be able to find a solution to the problems I am suffering now, to get my legs back," he remarks. "So far, not one doctor has been able to offer that. But I keep hoping for the kind of miracle cure you often read about in the Johns Hopkins Magazine, where a patient has apparently reached the end of the road and then some doctor finally comes up with a miraculous solution for the problem.

"So there I was and here I am," he concludes.

Nonetheless, the competitive spirit and focused determination that brought him many trophies and awards remains strong. He stills walks a mile daily, usually on the Johns Hopkins track within view of his apartment. As often as possible after his walk, he goes into the training room of the Athletic Center and follows up with exercises for his legs and stretches to complete his workout.

A Legacy of Helping and Inspiring Others

As he reflects on his life, Larry Goldfarb derives great satisfaction from knowing that, by his example, he has inspired Hopkins athletes, coaches, and fansas well as a few administrators and faculty members--to stay fit and to make gifts to support the University.

Goldfarbs dedication to fitness has influenced many of his friends and associates to incorporate regular exercise and a low cholesterol diet into their daily lives.

Baltimore lawyer Bill Guiffre, who teaches Business Law in Hopkins School of Professional Studies and is a Blue Jays fan, got to know Goldfarb because both used the Athletics Center and ran on the track. "Larry was there every day," Guiffre says, "working with the weights, running three miles, hitting tennis balls. He really was an inspiration to me.

"On days when I felt tired and thought about skipping my workout, I would think Larry Goldfarb is over there so I dont have any right to be lazy." Guiffre also became aware that his friend was quietly providing financial support to Hopkins athletics "and that caused me to donate too, although on a more modest scale."

In other cases, his influence on others has come as a surprise to Goldfarb. University Trustee Paula Boggs, a 1981 graduate of the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences, in 1999 made a substantial gift to the University for scholarships and womens athletics.

"When I first came to Hopkins," she says, "there was no womens running program...and but for the largess of Larry Goldfarb, there would not have been a program the next year. If you were to poll the women who ran track in that era, every one would know Larrys name. He provided tremendous opportunities for so many of us," she continues, "and he showed me how the contributions of one person could have a profound effect on many others. He is definitely a role model for me," Boggs concludes.

"So many of the Hopkins athletes have told me they intend to make donations to the University when they graduate and are in a position to do so," Goldfarb says with satisfaction. "I had no idea about Paulas gift, but its great to know that what I have done has had that kind of an impact."

Bill Guiffre has been particularly impressed at the enjoyment his friend has derived from his support of Hopkins athletics. "Larry has never sought any notoriety for what he has contributed," Guiffre observes. "The two people at Johns Hopkins who, to me, symbolize the best of the best are Bob Scott and Larry Goldfarb. Larry truly enjoys doing good."

Goldfarb has given generously, of time and financial resources, not only to Hopkins but to other Baltimore institutions.

From 1968 to 1990, he was a volunteer at Sheppard Pratt Hospital, Baltimores nationally known psychiatric center. A fellow runner at the Hopkins track, a young physician who was working at the hospital, suggested that Goldfarb offer instruction in tennis to the patients. "I accepted the young doctors suggestion and signed up with the recently started volunteer program at the hospital," he says. "I started teaching tennis to the patients, and later lectured on photography and the workings of the stock market. Then I started a discussion group for the patients in the evenings, and in 1980, I taught a class on disco dancing for patients."

Goldfarb served as the Sheppard Pratt Auxiliarys financial consultant on a volunteer basis for 20 years, as well. "I received quite a few letters of appreciation from the director of volunteer services and also from members of the Auxiliary from time to time," he remembers. "I also had several exhibits of my photography for the patients and, when I lost interest in the hobby, I donated all of my darkroom equipment for the patients use.

"The volunteer work was a very satisfying association," he says. "The patients deal with

some serious problems. Many of them are very bright people and what I was providing helped them to be able to put their problems aside for a time."

Goldfarb has been a strong financial supporter of many other groups. He expresses a strong belief in giving back to the community where he has thrived. "I feel philanthropy and volunteering is an important part of anyones life," he observes.				

Golfarb is a member of Johns Hopkins Milton S. Eisenhower Society, which recognizes leadership donors.		

"My support of Johns Hopkins is something I enjoy every single day," he sums up.